When Hatred Turned to Love-Rewritten!
by Merwholocked628
Summary: MERDRED! (Because there needs to be more on this sight) Emrys hated him, Mordred knew that, but yet he couldn't help but love his 'king'. And maybe one day, Emrys would love him back, and maybe that day would come sooner than expected. (I got a review saying I needed to flesh out this story a bit more and it was too fast paced so thats what I did, I fleshed it out. Enjoy! :) )


**I love Merdred, I love Merdred so much, there needs to be more Merdred on this sight so, I'm going to write this;**

When did hatred turn to love? For Mordred it was the first time he saw Merlin huddled in the snow, his cheeks flushed pink with cold. As soon as he saw that all quarrels he had with the man faded away, anything that Emrys might have done to him was forgotten, all that the druid wanted now was for his king of sorts to like him, well at least be friendly towards him. But of course Mordred's luck was never the best.

He walked over to the man his boots crunching in the soft powder, his cheeks red with what any onlookers would perceive to be cold but was really a side effect of his thundering heart beat.

"Do you want them?" He offered small loaf of bread, hoping that Merlin would grab it and perhaps brush his fingertips against Mordred's as he pulled away.

The glare the warlock gave him made the druid recoil, he had just shown kindness hadn't he? Why did Emrys look at him that way?

"Why are you doing this?" The underlying bitterness in those words made any hope Mordred may've had of friendship fly out the window, he was not sure if he sighed audibly but his heart felt like it was being crushed under the weight of a boulder.

He morphed his features into a mask of indifference and replied cooly;

"He saved my life once." He looked at Arthur's sleeping form, this lie might've been true a few minutes ago, but now…"I owe him a debt, don't be so quick to judge me." _Please don't,I have made some mistakes but I'm willing to change...please._ "You fear me, Emrys, don't you?" _Was that the reason behind the steel in the raven haired mans eyes?_ "I know the hatred and suspicion with which men treat those with magic. You and I are not so different. I too have learned to hide my gifts." _Please, believe me we are not different. _"I promise...your secret is safe with me." He resisted the urge to place a hand on the man's shoulder.

They continued to talk, Merlin still gazing at the man with hatred and Mordred trying to quell the fluttery feeling in his stomach every time Emrys spoke to him.

Soon, the druid found himself renouncing loyalty to Morgana, the woman who had taken him in after his home had been destroyed, by Emrys no less, and swearing fealty to Arthur, the very man he was supposed to despise. Part of him had to wonder whether this was due to his inability to hate the king after what he had done for him when he was a child, or if this were due to his newfound infatuation with Emrys, but whatever the reason he was happy. Riding as close as possible to Merlin, his heart hurting a bit every time the man shot him a glare, he knew he wouldn't regret his choice.

And possibly, just possibly he could change Emrys's mind about him, that thought had his stomach in knots.

When did hatred turn to love? Our dear warlock took much longer to warm up to Mordred. Although the first time they were in close corridors when Merlin had dressed the druid for his knighting ceremony, Merlin's hand brushed against Mordred's skin and they both blushed, although neither of them noticed the other's red cheeks.

"Why did you save Arthur's life?" Although Merlin was suspicious of Mordred's actions he was also genuinely curious, why would a druid save the life of a man whose father had taken everything from him.

"Because Arthur is right, the love that binds us is more important than the power we wield." Mordred held his breath and wondered if Emrys would understand the unsaid message in those words, _I love you._

Merlin didn't, not then and there of course, he was too busy watching the druid for any signs of treachery. But went to bed that night with those words in his head all the same.

They soon were sharing much of their free time in each others presence. Although the raven haired warlock convinced himself this was just to make sure Mordred wasn't planning on hurting Arthur. Which, at the start it was.

The warlock had thought himself a genius when he had thought up the plan, after all 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer.' So he asked Mordred to accompany him to the Valley of the Fallen Kings where this one specific bush grew. It's berries were poisonous but it's leaves when ground made one of the best seasoning in the five kingdoms and of course Arthur wanted them on the menu for the feast he was preparing for some stuck up nobles that probably only wanted to be friends with Arthur because his kingdom was prosperous. And who did he send into the bandit infested valley to gather some stupid leaves, Merlin of course!

Usually Merlin would invite Gwaine to accompany him on these types of things or when he had a headache Percival. But he needed to keep a close eye on the druid and Mordred already knew of his magic which made fighting the bandits they were sure to come across much easier.

"Stupid prat. Stupid seasoning. Why can't he send another person to get it, but noooo it had to be me." Merlin grumbled as the pair entered the valley.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, if he's sending you to do things this far away from the castle it means he trusts you." Mordred offered quietly.

Merlin glared at the man, silently telling him that his opinion was not appreciated and if he wanted to keep his head on his shoulders he better keep his mouth shut. "Or he enjoys watching me suffer."

Mordred chuckled softly but immediately stopped when he saw the distrustful look Emrys was giving him.

"Why do you hate me?" He muttered under his breath so Merlin couldn't hear him.

Before the warlock had a chance to demand he repeat what he said they were attacked by, surprise, surprise, bandits! Mordred quickly drew his sword and Merlin muttered something under his breath and created a shield around them, he had considered just making a shield around himself but his conscience won out, damn thing.

The bandits kept hacking away at the shield but to no avail, the glittering dome wouldn't budge. Finally Mordred had had enough of their pointless whacking and sent a massive fireball in their direction, the ones who avoided the more...fatal burns ran away with their metaphorical tails between their legs.

Even Merlin had to admit he was impressed. A fireball of that size took great power, although knowing the druid had that amount of power was unsettling considering what he was destined to use it for.

"G-good work." The warlock tried, attempting to smile at the man.

Mordred almost laughed, the smile Merlin was trying to force onto his lips made him look like he was in pain. "Thank you Emrys." He answered politely.

They finally got back to Camelot with the seasoning (Arthur was going to pay, Merlin didn't know how yet but he was going to make that man pay. Maybe he could get Gwaine to help….Gwaine was always up for pulling a prank on the 'princess.') -in one piece. Merlin and Mordred said their awkward goodbyes, and with a heavy heart Mordred made his way to his chambers to sulk in the darkness.

Merlin on the other hand found himself thinking about the druid man's power. It might even come close to rivaling his own. Even though he knew he should be terrified the warlock was intrigued and wondered what else Mordred could do. Not because he was interested or anything like that….simply because you have to know your enemy.

So the next evening, just as the sun was setting and Merlin had finished his chores (he had gotten done early for once!) -he decided to ask the druid man for a demonstration. Mordred of course, was more than happy to oblige.

"Of course!" He had said, his heart soaring at the chance to show off to his….he refused to say crush but that would be the best word for it.

They snuck out of the citadel and into the cover of the woods. They walked for a time in silence before Mordred deemed they were far enough into the trees to stop.

"Show me something." Merlin said sitting on a fallen log .

The druid waved his hand and a small fire started in between the two men.

"_Upastige Draca." _Mordred said in the language of the old religion and a dragon appeared in the flames before disappearing again.

Even though it was just a party trick Merlin had to say he was impressed, even Mordred looked pleased with his work you could see the smile in his eyes, they seemed to twinkle in the firelight. The warlock grinned at that thought and then immediately banished it from his mind. He wasn't supposed to be smiling when he thought of the druid man!

"That was amazing." And he most certainly wasn't supposed to be praising him!

"I'm sure you could have done better." Mordred said self consciously, grinning at the compliment. '_Emrys had smiled at him, Emrys had praised him!' _ His heart fluttered in his chest and he was glad it was dark because he had flushed a deep red.

Merlin grinned again despite the fact that all his instincts were screaming against it. "Yeah probably." He joked.

"Wow, thank you Emrys." Mordred said sarcastically.

They talked for awhile after that, the warlock tried to convince himself that it was purely because he was getting to know his enemy but his heart told him that it was because he actually was starting to enjoy this man's company.

Now when they spent time together it was because Merlin wanted to not because he felt that he had to for Arthur's sake. His hatred of the man began to fade into something akin to mistrust and even that was beginning to dissipate. He found himself smiling more and more around the dark haired knight and the smiles were starting to become more genuine. And that fact made Mordred feel like he was on cloud nine.

Merlin started noticing that the druid man was staring at him often these days, at first he figured it was because Mordred was trying to get a feel for him, figure out his opponent, like Morgana used to do back when she lived in the castle. But now, now that he had started becoming friends with him Merlin couldn't figure out what those looks meant, but they made his cheeks heat up and his ears turn red every time he caught the knight doing it. He couldn't figure out the reason behind that either. Perhaps he was coming down with a strange illness? But something told him it had to do with Mordred, though he just couldn't figure out what.

It was one day out in the woods with the druid man that Merlin worked out his feelings towards the druid, they had been walking through the forest, Merlin keeping his eyes peeled for a rare herb that Gaius needed, Mordred prattling on about the trees, and the green of the forest and just generally reminiscing about the camp he had lived in as a child, before his father had been executed.

The herb needed was found in a meadow along with various wild flowers, nearly hidden from sight. It was in full bloom and had bright blue blossoms. '_Just like Mordred's eyes...' _The warlock mused before shaking his head to clear it of all embarrassing thoughts like that one, he was starting to have them more and more recently and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

"Is this the one Gaius needs?" The druid came up behind Merlin looking at the small patch of flowers he was currently staring at.

"Yes." Merlin replied shortly and Mordred noted his voice sounded far away like he was lost in a day-dream.

"Here, I'll get them." Mordred offered, but right at the same time the warlock had said something similar and they both stepped forward to grab the herb, but Merlin being his usual graceful self somehow managed to trip over a rock and went crashing into Mordred which resulted in them both crashing to the ground with a 'thud'.

"Owww." Merlin muttered rubbing his head, which had collided with the druid's armor.

"Are you alright Emrys?" Asked Mordred from underneath him.

"Yeah fi-" The warlock didn't finish his sentence as he finally noticed the position he and the druid man were in. His cheeks burning red he flailed and tried to get up which resulted in him falling against Mordred's chest again.

The dark haired knight chuckled, his face a bright pink. "Having some difficulty there Emrys?"

Merlin muttered something unintelligible and was too absorbed in trying to get the damned butterflies in his stomach to go away to speak clearer, he hadn't felt this way since…..Freya.

That thought jerked him fully into the present, was that what was going on here? Why his smiles were starting to come more naturally to him around Mordred, the way his cheeks flushed pink every time he caught the man staring at him? Merlin scrambled to his feet and backed away from Mordred his mind reeling. He couldn't be...not with Mordred...could he? His mind and all of his rational instincts screamed no, but his heart, the thing that had led him astray many times in the past whispered yes. And of course, like always, that foolish thing in his chest would be what he would follow in the end.

The druid in question got to his feet, brushing bits of grass and flowers off of him, his ears still tinged red.

"I suppose we should-ermmm…" He stuttered, gesturing helplessly at the now slightly squished herb that they had yet to pick.

"Oh, yes right!" Merlin said, and cheeks still flaming quickly picked the herb to take to Gaius

They rode back in awkward silence and both of them dreamed of the other that night.

It wasn't until the winter solstice that they finally confessed to one another. Merlin was running around doing various duties for visiting nobles all day and Mordred was with the other knights entertaining said nobles and casting longing looks at Merlin whenever the warlock happened to come in the room. Nothing would have come of those looks either if the fair-haired king hadn't said one very important sentence to his servant;

"Take the night off."

"What?" Merlin did a double take and wondered if he had heard his master correctly.

"Take the night off." Arthur repeated a bit slower.

"Are you sure?"

"_Mer_lin, it's the winter solstice, spend some time with friends, you do have friends right? Hell, if you don't spend the evening with Gaius if you wish, just enjoy the solstice."

The warlock rolled his eyes at his kings pigheadedness but decided to take him up on his offer. "Yes, Arthur, surprisingly enough I do have friends. And thank you."

With that he folded the last of the laundry and left the room to try to find something to do with himself for the next few hours.

While wandering aimlessly through the castle he stumbled upon a certain dark haired knight gazing out a frost covered window.

"Mordred?"

The man turned at the sound of his name and looked at Merlin expectantly.

"M-may I join you?" Merlin cursed his stutter, but the druid man smiled and waved him over.

"It's beautiful isn't it? I never get tired of the city." Mordred said, going back to gazing out the window. Truthfully the citadel was very pretty, especially covered with a layer of snow that glittered in the moonlight. Candles bathed the homes in a golden glow and even the wind seemed to be celebrating on that particular solstice night. But that was not what Merlin was talking about when he said;

"Yeah it is." The warlocks eyes were fixed on the man beside him. Merlin thought that everything about Mordred was beautiful, the way his raven locks framed his face and his deep blue eyes sparkled, his soft spoken polite manner, his bravery and willingness to stand up for what he believed in, the fact that even though Merlin treated him like crap most of the time he was still willing to stand by his side and fight in the name of 'Emrys'. A man like this surely couldn't turn out like Morgana. No the prophecies couldn't be about Mordred he was sure of it.

Mordred smirked, noticing Emrys's eyes were fixed on him when he spoke. "You weren't talking about the city were you?" The druid's cheeks were pink and his heart was racing.

Merlin laughed nervously and then stepped a bit closer to Mordred, "No I wasn't."

The druid's breath hitched in his throat and he found himself staring at Merlin's lips. '_What I would give to be able to kiss Emrys right now.' _He thought to himself_._

The thought had barely passed through his mind before Merlin had closed the gap between them. Mordred tensed for a moment before losing himself in the kiss, tangling his hands in the warlocks hair, Merlin's hands around the druids waist. They only broke apart when neither had the oxygen to continue. The two men stepped away from each other just in time to see the others eyes flash gold and the torches that were lit around them flames grew, blazing the brightest reds and oranges they had ever seen.

"I love you Mordred."

"And I you, Emrys."

Unbeknownst to them, the prophecies of old had just been changed by those few, simple words.

**I hope you guys enjoyed, I know I sure did!**


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